A total of 50 teachers were laid off at the Bara'em Al-Watan Private Girls' School here on Saturday. The school was recently hit by a devastating fire resulting in the loss of lives, many injuries and significant damage to the property. This comes as Abdullah Al-Thaqafi, Director of Education in Jeddah, said his administration was considering job applications received from teachers. The teachers lost their jobs on the first day of the mid-term examinations. Abeer Matar, the school's principal, said the school sustained damages running into millions of riyals because of the fire. The school had to lay off the teachers because it did not receive any help from the government, said Matar. “A large number of parents transferred their kids to other schools. We can't afford to pay teachers' salaries if we don't have enough students.” Matar promised that the school would possibly reinstate the teachers once the school has been renovated. All teachers have been laid off legally as per their employment contracts, which state that the school can terminate contracts under certain compelling conditions, she added. The school will pay teachers their full entitlements and will use the money paid by some transferring students to pay the other female teachers, she pointed out. Some female teachers said the school laid them off gradually, starting with the kindergarten section, and that the decision was taken abruptly after a meeting. __
